Plane crashes in Turkey
A Ukrainian passenger plane carrying Spanish peacekeepers returning from Afghanistan has crashed in North West Turkey.
According to reports the plane came down near the mountain town of Macka, about 30 miles south of the Black sea port of Trabzon.
It was due to arrive in Trabzon for a refuelling stop. A spokesman confirmed: ‘It was due to land here but it never did.’
The Ukrainian Emergencies Ministry confirmed that rescuers were at the site. A spokesman confirmed that around 70 people had been on board the Yak-42.
‘It is difficult to say why the accident occurred but of course an investigation is under way. Rescuers are at the scene,’ the spokesman said.
It is understood that the plane had been flying from the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek to Zaragoza in Spain.
Sait Topcu, a cleric at a mosque in a nearby village, said how he had heard a loud explosion and hurried to the scene.
‘There were flames everywhere. I couldn’t get close to it for 15 to 20 minutes.’
According to the private TV station NTV, paramilitary police have recovered 25 bodies, but there are no survivors.
